Planodrapit co



H. DE SMITH.

SAFETY OPERATING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED lULY 21.1917. 1,809,246. Patented July 8, 1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

WITNESS.'

A TTOHNEY Tim COLUMBIA PLANoalzAPn ca., wAsHlNaruN. D. C.

H. DE SMITH.

SAFETY OPERATING MECHANISM. APPLICATION FILED IuLY2I,I9I1.

1,309,246.l Patented July 8, 1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

TME COLUMBIA DLANQGRAPII co.. WASHINGTON. n. c.

NETE@ STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY DE SMITH, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO lVI. D. KNOWLTON COMPANY, OF ROCHESTER, NEW' YORK, A CORPORATION 0F NEW YORK.

SAFETY OPERATING MECHANISM.

Speeeaton of Letters Patent.

Patented July 8, 1919.

Application led July 21, 1917'. Serial No. 182,081.

To all 207mm t may concern Be it known that l, HENRY DE SMITH, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Rochester, in the county of Monroe and tate of N ew York, have invented certain new and useful lmprovements in Safety Operating Mechanism, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to that type of safety operating mechanism for box-staying machines and the like, adapted to transmit power from the actuating means to the work-performing element only when the latter is in close proximity to the work being operated upon. At all other times the work-performing element will yield if it meets with an obstruction, such as the operators hand, whereby no harm will result.

T he object of this invention is to provide a safety-operating mechanism of this general type having the improvements hereinafter set forth.

rlhe invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, which show the safety operating` mechanism applied to a box-staying machine, but it will be obvious that it may be used on other types of machines as well.

ln the drawings Figure l is a front elevation of a portion of a box-staying machine, with certain of the parts in section for the clearer illustration of the safety operating` mechanism;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same, with certain of the parts also in section and showing the parts in the position which they assume just prior to the engagement of the work by the work-performing element, 2'. e., with the work-performing element in operative connection with its actuating mechanism;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional detail of certain parts of the safety operating mechanism, showing them in the position they assume when the work-performing element is checked in its descent by meeting with an obstruction, such as the operators hand.

Fig. 4f. is an end view of a latching device forming part of the safety operating mechanism, looking from the side opposite that shown in Figs. 2 and 3.

Similar reference characters indicate like parts in the several figures of the drawings.

The staying machine illustrated in the drawings and to which my invention is applied, is of substantially the usual construction and comprises a stationary die or anvil 2 upon which the boxes to be stayed are supported, a movable die 3 for pressing the fastening stays to the corners of the boxes on said anvil, a vertically reciprocating slide et guided between parallel ways 5, 5, and carrying at its lower end said die 3, and an actuating shaft 6 provided at its front end with an eccentrically mounted crank pin 7 which is connected through a link 8 with a pin 9 associated with the slide Ll, to imparta reciprocating movement to said slide and its supported presser die from the actuating shaft, under the conditions hereinafter described.

In my pending applications Serial Nos. 862,549 and 862,893, the power transmitting link between the eccentric on the actuating shaft and the slide carrying the movable presser die, is made collapsible to constitute a safety operating mechanism of the type hereinbefore referred to. ln the present case, however, such power transmitting link is of the usual one-piece type, and the safety operatingl mechanism for preventing an effective working stroke of the work-perform ing element-as represented by the die 8 and its carrying slide -except when the path of said element is unobstructed, is interposed between the link 8 and slide 4. This mechanism will now be described:

The pin 9 with which the power transmitting link 8 connects at its lower end, is attached to a block 10 which is slidably fitted in a vertically elongated recess 11 formed in the rear side of the slide d. This block l0 supports and carries the slide 4t through the medium of a block 12 which rests upon the upper surface of the block 10 and to which the slide 4 is connected by means which will hereinafter be described. S0 far as Jthe present invention is concerned, however, the block 12 may be considered as an integral part of the slide 4L. lVith the slide et thus supported, it will be understood that it will be raised and lowered with the block 10 as the latter is reciprocated by the connecting link 8, and as the descent of the slide will be under the action of gravity only, it will be further understood that said slide will be readily stopped in its downward stroke in the event of the die 3, at its lower end coming into contact with an obstruction, such, for instance, as the operators hand, while the block 10 will complete its downward stroke, independent of the slide, under the action of the link 8.

In order, however, that an eilective working stroke may be imparted to lthe slide t for causing the supported die 3 to exert the required pressure on the work, I have provided a lat-ching device for connecting said slide to the block 10. This latching device may be of any suitable construction for connecting the parts. As here shown, it comprises a pair et hooks 13, 13, fixedly attached to the opposite ends of a rock shaft 14 carried in the block 10, and which hooks are adapted to engage with locking shoulders 15, 15, on opposite sides of the block 12 when it is desired to connect the slide to the block 10. In operation, this latching device is held in its inoperative or releasing position, z'. c., disengaged from the shoulders 15, 15, on the block 12, .during the maj or portion of the downward stroke of the slide and until the supported die 3 reaches a position adj acent to the work, usually within approximately one-eighth of an inch therefrom, at which time the latching device will be operated to engage the shoulders 15, 15 and lock the slide 4 to the positively-actuated block 10, whereby to impart the desired pressure from the actuating means to the movable die 3. It, however, the movable die 3 meets with an obstruction, such as the operators hand, during its downward stroke, it will be held supported by said obstruction, and as the latch is in its inoperative or releasing position at such time, the block 10 will move downwardly relative to the block 12 and complete its stroke as imparted thereto by the link 8. As the block 12 remains unlatchcd from the block 10 until the die 3 is within approximately one-eighth of an inch from the work, it will be obvious that no harm can result to any obstruction, such as the operators hand, greater in thickness than one-eighth of an inch, that becomes accidentally or otherwise located in the path of the descending die, as under such circumstances the die will simply remain stationary and without any pressure being applied thereto while the block 10 completes its downward stroke.

Any suitable means may be employed for controlling the action of the latch device in the manner described. As here shown, one of the lat-ch members 13 is provided with a rearwardly extending arm 16 formed with a cam surface 17 which is yieldingly held by springs 1S in operative engagement with a roller 19 carried by a stationary bracket arm 20 secured to the frame of the machine. The cam surface 17 is so formed as to cause the latch device to be normally held in a position out of engagement with the locking shoulders 15, as shown in Fig. 3, until the die 3 has reached a position adjacent -to the work, usually approximately within one-eighth orl an inch therefrom, at which time the inclined portion of the cam will pass beneath the roller 19, as shown in Fig. 2, and allow the latch to engage the locking shoulders 15 on the block 12 for the purpose hereinbefore stated. lVhen the blocks 10 and 12 are thus latched together by the hooks 13, 13, they become as one solid piece for the purpose of transmitting pressure to the die 3 from the actuating means.

The springs 18 which act to yieldingly hold the latch arm 16 in engagement with the roller 19, are supported with one end resting in recessed lugs 21 on the block 10 and with their opposite ends resting in corresponding recesses 22 in the latch members 13.

As here-inbefore stated, the block 12, in so far as the present invention is concerned, may be connected to the slide 1 in any suitable manner for causing it to move therewith. As here shown, the block 12 is slidably `fitted in the recess 11 of the slide et and has threaded into its upper end a stem 23 which extends upwardly through guide openings 24, 24, formed therefor in the slide. In a. recess 25 formed in the slide between the openings 21, 21, a spiral spring 26 is located on the stem 23 with its lower end bearing against the lower stationary wall of said recess and with its upper end bearing against a collar 27 fixed on the stem. By such connection, the die 3 carried by the slide is permitted to act with a yielding pressure upon the work when it is forced downward into engage-ment therewith by its actuating means, and by turning the stem 23 to raise or lower its collar 27, the tension of the spring 26 may be varied to regulate the pressure of the movable die for work of varying kinds and thicknesses. As a means to hold the block 12 in operative relation to the block 10, while permitting of the relative vertical movement between the same as described, the block 10 is provided with pins 2S at its upper side which slidably engage the upper block 12 within corresponding openings therein, as clearly sho-wn in Fig. 3.

lVhat I claim is:

1. In a machine of the kind described and in combination, an actuator, a carrying member, a non-yieldable connection between said parts 'for imparting reciprocating movement to the carrying member a work-performing element movable with said member and normally vieldable relative thereto, and means automaticallv operable just prior to the engagementy of the work by the work performing element toconnect said element to the carrying member to be actuated thereby. i

2. In a machine of the kind described and in combination, anl actuator', a carrying member, a non-yieldable connection between Said parts for imparting reciprocating movement to the carrying member, a workperforming element carried by said member and normally yieldable relative thereto, and means automatically operable just prior to the engagement of the work by the workperforming element to connect said element to the carrying member to be actuated thereby.

3. In a machine of the kind described and in combination, an actuating eccentric, a carrying member, a one-piece link between said parts for imparting reciprocating movement to the carrying member, a workperforming element carried by said member and normally7 yieldable relative thereto, and means automatically operable just prior to the engagement of the work by the workperforming element to connect said element to the carrying member to be positively actuated thereby.

4. In a machine of the kind described and in combination, an actuating eccentric, a reciprocating member actuated from said eccentric through a connecting link, a workperforming element resting upon said reciprocating member for movement therewith and being normally disconnected therefrom, and means automatically operable just prior to the engagement of the work by the workperforming element to connect said element to the reciprocating member to be positively actuated thereby.

5. In a machine of the kind described and in combination, an actuator, a carrying member, a non-yieldable connection between said parts for imparting reciprocating movement to the carrying member, a workperforming element carried by said member and normally yieldable relative thereto, and latching means automatically operable just prior to the engagement of the work by the work-performing element to connect said element to the carrying member to be actuated thereby, said latching means comprising a latch device carried by one of said parts which it connects.

6. In a machine of the kind described and in combination, an actuator, a carrying member, a non-yieldable connection between said parts for imparting reciprocating movement to the carrying member, a workperforming clement carried by said member and normally yieldable relative thereto, and latching means automatically operable just prior to the engagement of the work by the work-performing element to connect said element to the carrying member to be actuated thereby, said latching means com-V prising a spring-pressed latch device carried one of said parts which it connects and a cooperating member for controlling the latching and releasing positions oi' said latch device.

7. In a machine of the kind described, and in combination, an actuator, a carrying member, a non-yieldable connection between said parts for imparting reciprocating movement to the carrying member, a workperforming element carried by said member and normally yieldable relative thereto, and latching' means automatically operable just prior to the engagement of the work by the work-performing element to connect said element t0 the carrying member to bc actuated thereby, said latching means comprising a pivoted spring-pressed latch device carried by one of the parts which it connects and a cooperating member supported by a stationary part of the machine for automatically controlling the latching and releasing positions of said latch device.

8. In a machine of the kind described and in combination, an actuator, a carrying member, a non-yieldable connection between said parts for imparting reciprocating movement to the carrying member, a workperforming element carried by said member and normally yieldable relative thereto, and latching means automatically operable just prior to the engagement of the work by the work-performing element to connect said element to the carrying member to be actuated thereby, said latching means comprising a locking shoulder carried by the work-performing element, a latch device carried by the carrying member for latching engagement with said shoulder and having a cam surface, a spring acting to normally press the latch into engagement with said locking shoulder, and a member supported by a stationary part of the machine for cooperating with said cam surface of the latch device to automatically control the latching and releasing positions of said latch device.

9. In a machine of the kind described and in combination, an actuator, a carrying member, a link connecting said parts for imparting reciprocating movement to the carrying member, a work-performing element carried -b-y said member and being normally yieldable relative thereto, said element being provided with a vertically elongated recess in which the carrying member is slidably fitted, and means automatically operable just prior to the engagement of the work by the work-performing element to connect said element to the carrying member to be actuated thereby.

l0. In a machine of the kind described and in combination, an actuating eccentric, a reciprocating member actuated from said eccentric through a connecting link, a second member resting upon said reciprocating member to be carried thereby and being normally yicldable in a vertical` direction relative thereto, a work-performing element yieldingly connected to said second member :tor movement therewith7 and latching means automatically operable just prior to the engagement of the work by the work-performing element to connect said two member whereby the work-performing element will be positively actuated at the end of its workingstroke.

l1. The combination with an arm provided with a guide head, a reciprocatory head movable in said guide head, a journaled shaft carried by said arm, and a link hav ing an eccentric connection with said shaft,

of mechanism comprising a device connected with said link and adapted to be moved thereby in said reciprocating head, and means for continuously locking and unlocking said mechanisms with relation to said reciprocatory head in the normal movement ot' the same and for preventing said locking operation when said head is stopped in its normal downward movement.

Signed at Rochester, in the county of Monroe and State of New York, this 19th day of July, A. D. 1917.

HENRY DE SMITH.

Witnesses Trios. D. PATTON. HUBERT J. MARTIN.

Copies of this patent may beA obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of- Patents.

' Washington, D. C. 

